KUALA LUMPUR: Motorists using the Kuala Lumpur-Karak Highway and the East Coast Expressway can drive toll free on Sept 18 and 24 from midnight to 5am.

MTD Group executive chairman Datuk Azmil Khalid said the toll-free hours, which applied to all classes of vehicles, including commercial, was the company's way of thanking users in conjunction with Hari Raya Aidilfitri.

He said the move was also in line with the call by Works Minister Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor that highway concessionaires with sound financial standing should offer incentives to motorists.

Azmil said motorists using the Kuala Lumpur-Karak Highway would save RM8 while East Coast Expressway users would save RM29 in toll for a one-way trip.

"The free period takes into account peak travel hours between Kuala Lumpur and the east coast.

"Motorists still need to return their transit tickets when exiting.

"MTD expects about 200,000 vehicles will use the East Coast Expressway daily. It starts from Gombak in Kuala Lumpur and ends at Jabor in Terengganu.

"Our records show that 60 per cent of motorists will travel during the daytime," he said at Batu Caves near here yesterday.

The free toll is a first by a highway toll operator. PLUS had offered discounts of up to 20 per cent to those using the North-South Expressway du-ring Hari Raya Aidilftri.